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Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color
A Black Feminist Healing Perspective
Lani V. Jones
ISBN: 978-0-87101-552-5. 2020. Item #5525. 160 pages.
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ISBN: 978-0-87101-552-5. 2020. Item #5525. 160 pages.
Can your device download this eBook? Click here before purchasing! eBooks are available in single quantities only.
Book Type:
The psychosocial realities faced by Women of Color in the United States are daunting. Long stereotyped as “strong“ and “sassy,“ Women of Color shoulder the weight of others' burdens, compromising their emotional well-being. They are overworked and underpaid, are more likely to be single parents, are at higher risk for intimate partner and community violence, and are underserved in mental health and substance abuse services. Moreover, Women of Color face a daily onslaught of disrespect, denigration, and microaggressions in our racist, patriarchal, and misogynistic culture. Acknowledging and addressing these realities requires practitioners to systematically analyze Women of Color’s oppressions and liberation processes from a Black feminist perspective, informed by politics, race, and sexual and gender identity.
This unique and unapologetic book vividly explores the complex mental health experiences of Women of Color and gives therapists and educators a deeper understanding of the complex problems that Women of Color bring into treatment. With the goal of assisting therapists in developing foundational culturally responsive intervention skills, Lani V. Jones presents key elements and proficiencies critical to Black feminist therapeutic philosophy, theory, and practice. Through numerous anecdotes and case studies, Jones takes a person-centered, politically informed perspective that positions therapy within a cultural context, privileging race, gender, sexuality, and so on. She also provides insight into key paradigm shifts, such as moving the field from deficit models of psychosocial competence to culturally relevant methods that focus on resilience, strengths, and spirituality.
Non-White women will be the majority of all women in the United States by 2060. By incorporating Black feminist theory into existing treatment models, therapists can develop a power-balanced relationship with Women of Color and adopt a healing approach geared toward their needs.
This unique and unapologetic book vividly explores the complex mental health experiences of Women of Color and gives therapists and educators a deeper understanding of the complex problems that Women of Color bring into treatment. With the goal of assisting therapists in developing foundational culturally responsive intervention skills, Lani V. Jones presents key elements and proficiencies critical to Black feminist therapeutic philosophy, theory, and practice. Through numerous anecdotes and case studies, Jones takes a person-centered, politically informed perspective that positions therapy within a cultural context, privileging race, gender, sexuality, and so on. She also provides insight into key paradigm shifts, such as moving the field from deficit models of psychosocial competence to culturally relevant methods that focus on resilience, strengths, and spirituality.
Non-White women will be the majority of all women in the United States by 2060. By incorporating Black feminist theory into existing treatment models, therapists can develop a power-balanced relationship with Women of Color and adopt a healing approach geared toward their needs.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Women of Color’s Mental Health Matters: Mujeres de Color, en la Lucha (Women of Color, in the Struggle)
Chapter 2: Developing a Black Feminist Analysis for Mental Health Practice: From Theory to Praxis
Chapter 3: Culturally Responsive Services
Chapter 4: Understanding Power and Powerlessness in Therapy with Women of Color
Chapter 5: Applying Black Feminist Therapy Approaches to Women of Color in Therapy
Chapter 6: Case Illustrations
Chapter 7: Claiming Your Connections: An Evidence-Based Psychosocial Competence Group Intervention Grounded in Black Feminism
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Black Feminist Therapy, a 21st Century Imperative
Appendix: Terminology
References
Index
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Women of Color’s Mental Health Matters: Mujeres de Color, en la Lucha (Women of Color, in the Struggle)
Chapter 2: Developing a Black Feminist Analysis for Mental Health Practice: From Theory to Praxis
Chapter 3: Culturally Responsive Services
Chapter 4: Understanding Power and Powerlessness in Therapy with Women of Color
Chapter 5: Applying Black Feminist Therapy Approaches to Women of Color in Therapy
Chapter 6: Case Illustrations
Chapter 7: Claiming Your Connections: An Evidence-Based Psychosocial Competence Group Intervention Grounded in Black Feminism
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Black Feminist Therapy, a 21st Century Imperative
Appendix: Terminology
References
Index
About the Author
Lani V. Jones, PhD, LICSW, is a Black feminist scholar and therapist. She is a professor in the School of Social Welfare and the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She has more than 20 years of experience in providing therapy to Women of Color. Her research and scholarship are concentrated in the area of mental health practice research with a focus on enhancing psychosocial competence among Women of Color. Her work includes African Americans and Depression: Signs, Awareness, Treatments, and Interventions (Rowman & Littlefield) and numerous articles and book chapters.
Debunking the notion of "competence," Jones provides critical skills one can develop, both in terms of knowledge and techniques, that will enable cultural responsiveness to the experiences of Women of Color. Going beyond an overly simplistic feminist approach, the author invites readers to see through a nuanced, multifaceted lens that takes into consideration issues of racism, sexism, powerism, and other 'isms. This expansive view of Black feminist healing provides readers with a deeper understanding of what it means to "hold space," and to have that space encourage and facilitate deep healing.
Kendra C. Roberson, PhD, LCSW-S, RYT
Practicing psychotherapist, Brownsville, TX
Kendra C. Roberson, PhD, LCSW-S, RYT
Practicing psychotherapist, Brownsville, TX
Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color was reviewed by Mia M. Kirby for the journal Social Work.
Women of color are faced with a myriad of challenges that impact their mental health, from dealing with microaggressions or “psychological darts” to stereotypes such as the Strong Black Woman myth and the gender roles of machismo and marianismo, which impact their ability to express their emotions and seek mental health treatment. Research has demonstrated that these pressures are then internalized by women of color, exacerbating mental health issues. Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color: A Black Feminist Healing Perspective by Lani V. Jones seeks to examine the challenges women of color face as well as address how women of color can benefit from the Black feminist therapy approach. Culturally, relevant practices in therapy are becoming more widely researched and employed as their benefits for treating people of color have been recognized. Jones’s approach goes beyond teaching practitioners cultural sensitivity by providing a practical approach to treatment and demonstrating this through case studies and her work as a mental health therapy group leader for women of color. Additionally, this book seeks to provide an understanding of the application of the Black feminist healing perspective.
Read the full review. Available to subscribers of Social Work.
Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color was reviewed by Jacqueline R. Burse for the journal Social Work.
Lani V. Jones, a Black feminist therapist and scholar, shares her knowledge, research, and experience concerning the difficulty that women of color face in healing their “psychological wounds” due to the lack of culturally unreceptive mental health treatment and services. Jones posits that the mental health system has failed women of color by not creating comfort, hope, and healing in a therapeutic setting due to the absence of understanding, awareness, and not taking into account one’s culture or life experience.
Jones shares her extensive mental health experience in practice with women of color as she narrates therapeutic approaches with focus groups and case studies during the initial stages of the termination process of treatment. The author also provides powerful insight on the effects of stress, worry, judgment, disregard, racism, and microaggressions that women of color face daily and that are very apparent when they enter therapy. Her examples revisit the common thematic responses women of color experience with the “isms” in addition to the internalized self-doubt, fear, and isolation that remain constant in their lives. Jones proposes that, until therapists “view, understand, acknowledge, and intervene,” healing for women of color will remain nonexistent; therapists must be actively engaged while examining diverse techniques and intervention modalities for treatment.
Read the full review. Available to subscribers of Social Work.
Women of color are faced with a myriad of challenges that impact their mental health, from dealing with microaggressions or “psychological darts” to stereotypes such as the Strong Black Woman myth and the gender roles of machismo and marianismo, which impact their ability to express their emotions and seek mental health treatment. Research has demonstrated that these pressures are then internalized by women of color, exacerbating mental health issues. Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color: A Black Feminist Healing Perspective by Lani V. Jones seeks to examine the challenges women of color face as well as address how women of color can benefit from the Black feminist therapy approach. Culturally, relevant practices in therapy are becoming more widely researched and employed as their benefits for treating people of color have been recognized. Jones’s approach goes beyond teaching practitioners cultural sensitivity by providing a practical approach to treatment and demonstrating this through case studies and her work as a mental health therapy group leader for women of color. Additionally, this book seeks to provide an understanding of the application of the Black feminist healing perspective.
Read the full review. Available to subscribers of Social Work.
-----------------------------
Reenvisioning Therapy with Women of Color was reviewed by Jacqueline R. Burse for the journal Social Work.
Lani V. Jones, a Black feminist therapist and scholar, shares her knowledge, research, and experience concerning the difficulty that women of color face in healing their “psychological wounds” due to the lack of culturally unreceptive mental health treatment and services. Jones posits that the mental health system has failed women of color by not creating comfort, hope, and healing in a therapeutic setting due to the absence of understanding, awareness, and not taking into account one’s culture or life experience.
Jones shares her extensive mental health experience in practice with women of color as she narrates therapeutic approaches with focus groups and case studies during the initial stages of the termination process of treatment. The author also provides powerful insight on the effects of stress, worry, judgment, disregard, racism, and microaggressions that women of color face daily and that are very apparent when they enter therapy. Her examples revisit the common thematic responses women of color experience with the “isms” in addition to the internalized self-doubt, fear, and isolation that remain constant in their lives. Jones proposes that, until therapists “view, understand, acknowledge, and intervene,” healing for women of color will remain nonexistent; therapists must be actively engaged while examining diverse techniques and intervention modalities for treatment.
Read the full review. Available to subscribers of Social Work.